Manufacturers

ARS MANIFESTIA - The Red Behind CD

$5.00

Ars Manifestia is also the name of the first song of the overlooked Norwegian black metal band Kvist's only album, For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike, and that is no coincidence because many similarities exist between the two albums. The Red Behind may not grab your behind immediately. At first you may feel as though you are listening to just another competent no-frills Norwegian black metal band or merely a good wannabe. But gradually the music draws you closer, slips its arm around your neck before choking it. It is like booze – the more time you sit with it, the more drunk you will become; and the higher you get, the more appealing the music will begin to seem.

Then, the music that you once may have called hackneyed in your mind will become evocative of Taake and early Ulver, in addition to Kvist, of course. And even with Ars Manifestia supplying a steady stream of melodies originating possibly from the northernmost peak of Dissection, they keep their music fairly raw and the emotions that are expressed are not always of a pleasant nature. Chilly blasts and scathing shrieks will shake the dandruff off your head. Thankfully, Harmful's mind also happens to be brilliant. How else can one explain the unpredictable yet fitting twists and turns of the songs, which make you oblivious or at least less remindful of the long lengths? It is like going deeper and deeper into a mysterious winding tunnel with nothing but hope to light your path, not knowing whether there will be a way out from the other side but knowing well enough that if not then you won't have sufficient life in you to retrace your steps.